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Government to the Economic Rescue

Historians will look back at this time and say the three-pronged strategy of TARP, fiscal stimulus and bank stress testing kept us out of the abyss.

By

Alan S. Blinder

Updated June 16, 2010 12:01 a.m. ET

Those of us who don't live in caves are constantly bombarded with poll results—on just about every subject. But a recent Pew/National Journal poll cut through the cacophony and caught my eye nonetheless.

It seems that more Americans believe that "Barack Obama's economic policies" (the pollsters' exact words) have made economic conditions worse (29%) than better (23%), and another 35% of Americans think his policies have "not had an effect so far." So only 23% of the public thinks the president's policies...